Seven Terrible Marvel Costume Designs That Quickly Went Away

Marvel boasts some of the most iconic costume designs in the superhero business, but that doesn’t mean that those costumes don’t need updating from time to time. Marvel sometimes changes a costume to emphasize a new chapter in a character’s life or just to modernize a design that feels antiquated in the modern day.Most of Marvel’s costume designs are hits with the fanbase, but there are a few costume ideas that probably never should have seen print.These dud costumes only lasted for a few months or years, but they live on in infamy as some of the worst costume designs of all time.Here’s seven iconic characters who have briefly donned horrific new costumes:

Armored Captain America

In the 1990s, Captain America discovered the supersoldier serum in his bloodstream was causing extreme side effects, including paralysis.  Once the serum fully paralyzed his body, Iron Man developed a special exoskeleton to help Cap fight crime while Cap’s allies tried to find a cure before the serum killed him off.  Armed with energy rays that caused vertigo, hidden missiles, and electromagnets to help control his shield, Captain America basically had a non-lethal version of Iron Man’s suit.  Luckily, the suit only lasted one storyline, as Sharon Carter secretly saved Captain America moments before his death and had the Red Skull cure him.

The exoskeleton made a cameo appearance at the end of 2014’s Axis event, when Captain America (now without powers and old after an enemy drained the supersoldier serum from his system) donned the suit to fight an army of “inverted” superheroes. 

Hawkeye as Goliath

In the 1970s, Hawkeye donned a modified version of Hank Pym’s “Goliath” costume when he re-joined the Avengers to fight in the Kree-Skrull War.  Perhaps because his team had initially rejected him due to a lack of powers, Hawkeye’s special “Goliath” costume was designed to show his teammate just how strong he was.  Instead of wearing a shirt, Goliath’s costume was merely a metal lifter’s belt and a non-sensical harness over his bare chest.  The whole costume was a hot mess, which is probably why Hawkeye returned to his classic name and gimmick a few months later.  Unfortunately, Hawkeye’s replacement costume, a one piece tunic that barely extended past his crotch, was as ridiculous as his Goliath costume.  Maybe Hawkeye should have just quit while he was ahead and given up superheroics all together. 

Wolverine in Black

When Wolverine finally got his own monthly ongoing series in the 1980s, comics legend John Buscema decided to give the savage Canadian a new costume to celebrate his accomplishment.  Buscema donned Wolverine in a sleeveless black costume with a smear of grease over his eyes…presumably to replace his mask.  Buscema’s design was probably intended to evoke a ninja vibe, but it just made Wolverine look ridiculous, especially since stealth was never really his strong suit.  The costume was always a short term replacement, although his Age of Apocalypse counterpart wore a similar costume during that alternate universe event. 

Kitty Pryde as Sprite

Most comics costumes aren’t supposed to look ridiculous, but Dave Cockrum came up with a few deliberately goofy costumes for Kitty Pryde when she first joined the X-Men.  Although Kitty initially wore a “training suit” based off the original X-Men costumes, the teenaged mutant made several attempts to design her own unique looking costume.  The worst of these costumes was basically a combination of random clothes Kitty pulled from her wardrobe, with striped purple leggings, a gold skin suit, and green short shorts.  The crown jewel of Kitty’s costume design were a pair of roller skates, which to be fair was a fashionable thing for superheroes to wear at the time.  Unfortunately, for Kitty, the X-Men vetoed her costume choice and several others before she finally settled on a more classic look.  

Namor with Spikes

The 1990s were a time of needless accessories, and Namor the Sub-Mariner was no exception. Namor’s traditional costume was a scaly speedo, but Marvel decided to mix things up a bit by giving him a pair of pants and gold-plated armor to wear in his own solo series. The pants were covered with long hooked spikes for some reason that, when coupled with Namor’s similarly spiky hair, made him look like a sea anemone.  As a notorious lothario, Namor dropped his pants plenty of times, but he eventually ditched the pants for a more streamlined outfit with a vest and his more familiar tight swimwear.  

The Sue Storm Cutout Costume

In the 1990s, Sue Storm decided to ditch her conservative jumpsuit in favor of a more sensuous and revealing costume.  Sue’s infamous “cutout” costume was little more than a swimsuit, with a cutout number four on her chest designed to show off her cleavage to…I dunno, probably Namor. Even in an era where female superheroes frequently wore as little clothes as possible, fans criticized Sue’s outfit for going totally against her character.  Oddly enough, during the same time period, the Thing got rid off his traditional “costume” (consisting only of a pair of underwear) in favor of a fullbody jumpsuit.  The Invisible Woman toned down her costume after about a year, but her cutout costume is still pointed out as one of the most ridiculous female superhero designs of all time. 

Daredevil with Shoulder Pads

Around the same time that Captain America was literally flying around in a metal suit of armor, Daredevil radically switched up his own costume as part of a weird, ill-conceived storyline called “Fall from Grace”.  Daredevil ditched his traditional costume for an black and chrome getup that looked more like football pads than an actual superhero costume.  The black costume was a portent of sorts, as Daredevil eventually faked his own death, became a fake con artist and developed split personalities over the course of the two year storyline, which culminated when Daredevil ripped up the black costume while experiencing a psychotic break.  Sadly, this wasn’t the only time that Daredevil put on a black costume.  He wore a black variant of his traditional red custome during the much maligned Shadowland storyline, which saw Daredevil lead the Hand against many of his allies while possessed by a demon.